What is the right room temperature for a class? It seems to me a very important question to get right at the beginning of the practice. Recently I was teaching a more advanced class things were moving along nicely, people were getting warmed up and the mood was building. It had a nice feel to the class, one where you feel people are enjoying a little more than just the Yoga poses. I wanted to get the group warm then pause, mini Savasana in the middle of class to reflect before continuing. But things were getting a little too warm. Someone more familiar with the studio than I was offered to switch on the fans and down came the temperature. Along with it came the mood. Now I found myself pushing more and more poses in to keep people warm. It felt more like a keep fit class than a warming Yoga class. By the time we got to Savasana I was wrestling with the fans myself trying to adjust them to something warmer than a UK beach holiday in Feburary.
My point is the temperature of the room is so critical to the success of class. It has to be warm enough, but no warming. What is that magic number? It is out there. Recently I attended one of Lauren’s beautiful Hatha classes at the Devi Yoga studio. The temperature was perfect. I was at the point of “glistening”, well with a bald head it not that unusual. (mmm may be that is a future blog post. “Monitoring the pace of the class through the glistening of bald heads in the room.” But that is going to mean …. oops I digress). The class kept me warm but not feeling like I was trying to attempting vinyasa’s on the strip at Las Vegas at midday in July.
"much too hot" said Goldilocks
The person next to me agreed with me with was the perfect temperature for a class. So of course after class I rushed over to Lauren to find out what that temperature was. Lauren would have the answer, she would know, after all she put such a well balanced classed together. What is the answer, I must know… “I have no idea” she said. We went to the thermostat on the wall. It would not offer any clues either, only somewhere between “high” and “low”. I knew that much already.
So the perfect temperature is out there I just have to find it. May be I should carry a thermometer around with me. Don’t be alarmed if I am in your class taking readings from around the room. It just means you have found the perfect temperature.